Top Items:
BBC:
Pope 'sorry' for offence to Islam — Pope Benedict XVI has said he is sorry that a speech in which he referred to Islam has offended Muslims. — In a statement read out by a senior Vatican official, the Pope said he respected Islam and hoped Muslims would understand the true sense of his words.
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Michelle Malkin:
Pope Rage on the Internet; church bombings in Gaza — My friend Lorenzo Vidino, counterterrorism expert and author of al Qaeda in Europe, sent the above photo and this note: … The script in red calls for the Pope's beheading. The rest of the translation:
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Jawa Report, Macsmind, small dead animals, Ace of Spades HQ and The Political Pit Bull
New York Times:
The Pope's Words — There is more than enough religious anger in the world. So it is particularly disturbing that Pope Benedict XVI has insulted Muslims, quoting a 14th-century description of Islam as "evil and inhuman." — In the most provocative part of a speech this week on …
TigerHawk:
Infantilizing Muslim "rage" — Just about the entire world knows that that Pope Benedict XVI gave a speech on Tuesday condemning religious conversion by violence. The Muslim "street" did not respond until Friday, when the leaders of the Muslim religion called for their faithful to surge …
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Pope Apologizes For Being Prophetic — Pope Benedict XVI apologized more clearly for any offense taken from his speech by Muslims that decried violence in relgious proselytization, as Muslims burnt two churches in the West Bank. Benedict now says that he hoped Muslims would understand …
Discussion:
Jerusalem Post, Guardian, Blue Crab Boulevard, Stop The ACLU and La Shawn Barber's Corner
Times of London:
Muslims vent fury at Pope's speech — From Richard Owen in Rome and Suna Erdem in Istanbul — THE Pope's visit to Turkey, which many hoped would herald a new era of improved relations between Islam and the West, was in doubt yesterday amid condemnation of remarks by the pontiff that appeared to link Islam and violence.
Discussion:
AMERICAblog
Anthony Shadid / Washington Post:
Remarks by Pope Prompt Muslim Outrage, Protests
Remarks by Pope Prompt Muslim Outrage, Protests
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, The Gun Toting Liberal, Atlas Shrugs, Norwegianity and Abu Aardvark
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:
Bush VS Republicans, The Press And Lawyers On Torture — The controversy continues to grow over President George Bush's push for legislation that narrowly defines the Geneva Convention — a move that is being opposed by some in the military and some key GOPers (most interestingly, high profile Republicans who served in the military).
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R. Jeffrey Smith / Washington Post:
Behind the Debate, Controversial CIA Techniques
Behind the Debate, Controversial CIA Techniques
Discussion:
New York Times, The Left Coaster, Andrew Sullivan, Balkinization, Bradford Plumer and The Democratic Daily
Rajiv Chandrasekaran / Washington Post:
Best-Connected Were Sent to Rebuild Iraq — After the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in April 2003, the opportunity to participate in the U.S.-led effort to reconstruct Iraq attracted all manner of Americans — restless professionals, Arabic-speaking academics, development specialists and war-zone adventurers.
wbal.com:
Cardin Staffer Sacked In Blog Flap — WBAL Radio as reported by Leonard Roberts and Robert Lang — A blog has apparently led to the firing of a staffer in the Ben Cardin for Senate campaign. — According to the Washington Times Insider Politics blog, a person labeling herself …
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Helen / Dr. Helen:
We Don't Support Gropers except for Bill Clinton — In a recent post, Ann Althouse rightly pokes fun at a picture of a group of left-leaning bloggers who met with and posed with Bill Clinton. Professor Althouse points out the irony of a female blogger from a "feminist" …
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Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns and Money:
Sexual Harassment As A Reactionary Prop
Sexual Harassment As A Reactionary Prop
Discussion:
Althouse
Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:
How Bad Is the Senate Intelligence Report? — Very bad. — According to a report released September 8 by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Saddam Hussein "was resistant to cooperating with al Qaeda or any other Islamist groups." It's an odd claim.
Discussion:
Security Watchtower
Sudarsan Raghavan / Washington Post:
Security Ring for Baghdad Underway — Massive Effort Aims To Block Insurgents — U.S. military and Iraqi security forces have begun a massive effort to seal off Baghdad with a ring of reinforced checkpoints, berms, trenches, barriers and fences in an attempt to clamp down on insurgents, officials said Friday.
Matthew Yglesias:
Commitment — As the President readies himself to go to the map for his right to order torture in violation of America's laws and international commitments, it's worth putting this in some context. It's extremely rare for the Bush administration to pick big fights with congress.
Washington Post:
Congress Ducks — We know that you know that there is an entitlement problem. But the message hasn't reached Capitol Hill. — THERE'S NO great mystery about how to address Medicare's financial crisis. Either you contain the rate at which the program's costs rise, or you raise more money to pay for it.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters
Brian Faler / Bloomberg:
Republican Voters Dismayed by Biggest Spending Rise Since 1990 — Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) — Republican voters are angry, not for the first time, at big-spending politicians in Washington. This year, their wrath is aimed at their own party. — The Republican-controlled Congress heads …
National Journal:
Know Thy Voter — A sophisticated and previously unrevealed experiment by Democratic interest groups could provide Democratic candidates in as many as nine states with an unanticipated edge in the November elections. — America Votes, a roundtable of the nation's top liberal membership groups …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Associated Press:
Intruder killed by nurse was hit man, police say — PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — When Susan Kuhnhausen returned home from work one day earlier this month, she encountered an intruder wielding a claw hammer. After a struggle, the 51-year-old nurse fended off her attacker by strangling him with her bare hands.